Benevento F1

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Guess I was lucky as I kept two seedlings, one was Benevento and the other Rainbow Jazz Heart. I thought that Benevento was very tasty when cooked .

Linda

I really thought I had 3 Benevento's because they were so striped before ripening.

[Fred Hempel]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Updating - My 3 Benevento plants ended up being Rainbow Jazz Hearts. Very deep splitting at the stem way before ripening. Also Very late.

OTOH, The Amalfi tomatoes was a great producer with pretty flawless tomatoes.

We had a cold snap on the 23rd and 24th with not much relief during the day, 35 and 33 lows. Neither plant handled the cold well at all.

This season went thru 2 hurricanes and the coldest 2 nights since I have been gardening. Back to the mid 70s.

Good news on the Amalfi Orange!

[NewWestGardener]

I had one Benevento from seeds Karen kindly shared with me. It was planted in the shade (as most of my garden is), and it took off later in the season, pumping out big gorgeous red-yellow beefsteaks, when other varieties showed signs of fatigue. It was very vigorous grower, so definitely a winner. It was so good I was thinking of preserving a branch but frost hit suddenly.
I am not sure about germination though, it was low. It could be my fault. I shared seeds with others some also had germination issues.
I saved some seed to try for next year, would it not come true as a hybrid?

[Fred Hempel]

Originally Posted by NewWestGardener

I had one Benevento from seeds Karen kindly shared with me. It was planted in the shade (as most of my garden is), and it took off later in the season, pumping out big gorgeous red-yellow beefsteaks, when other varieties showed signs of fatigue. It was very vigorous grower, so definitely a winner. It was so good I was thinking of preserving a branch but frost hit suddenly.
I am not sure about germination though, it was low. It could be my fault. I shared seeds with others some also had germination issues.
I saved some seed to try for next year, would it not come true as a hybrid?

It will definitely not breed true. It would segregate for lots of traits.

But, Artisan Seeds ships to Canada.

[KarenO]

The few seeds I sent to try were F1 hybrid seeds from Artisan.

KarenO.

[Barb_FL]

Is there any way to tell when Benevento or RJH are seedlings what they are? I really want to grow Benevento and can start again now. From my 3 plants, I had planned to take cuttings of the Benevento one for additional plants for winter/spring.

Germination from RJH was not great and the seedlings weren't super robust either but they did catch up after a few months when planted out.

Germination of Amalfi was 100%, super strong seedling, nice large orange tomatoes, no cracks.

To be fair, we had 2 hurricanes and a 48 hour near freeze so far this season.

On the first hurricane, Ian - it hit us from the west coast on the way out of Florida; plants were small and brought into the house - 3-4 days. All plants had a hard time adapting to the heat and humidity coming out. I'm guessing we lost a week there.

On the 2nd hurricane, Nicole in November came from the east and made landfall not too far, we got the nasty northside for way too long. Plants at this time were huge. The Amalfi and RJH were brought into the garage - 5 days - pretty dark. Other plants were brought under the porch - 3 deep. The most exposed ones sufferred the most. All of my plants lost blooms for almost 3 weeks afterwards especially the more protected ones in the garage. I'm just guessing it was the lack of light. The other plants just had to endure the hurricane. I am guessing a loss of 3 weeks there.

Then the 2 days of near freeze did more damage to the plants than either hurricane, including the plants that fended for themselves.

So DTM or being late is meaningless this year.

[Fred Hempel]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Is there any way to tell when Benevento or RJH are seedlings what they are? I really want to grow Benevento and can start again now. From my 3 plants, I had planned to take cuttings of the Benevento one for additional plants for winter/spring.

Germination from RJH was not great and the seedlings weren't super robust either but they did catch up after a few months when planted out.

Germination of Amalfi was 100%, super strong seedling, nice large orange tomatoes, no cracks.

To be fair, we had 2 hurricanes and a 48 hour near freeze so far this season.

On the first hurricane, Ian - it hit us from the west coast on the way out of Florida; plants were small and brought into the house - 3-4 days. All plants had a hard time adapting to the heat and humidity coming out. I'm guessing we lost a week there.

On the 2nd hurricane, Nicole in November came from the east and made landfall not too far, we got the nasty northside for way too long. Plants at this time were huge. The Amalfi and RJH were brought into the garage - 5 days - pretty dark. Other plants were brought under the porch - 3 deep. The most exposed ones sufferred the most. All of my plants lost blooms for almost 3 weeks afterwards especially the more protected ones in the garage. I'm just guessing it was the lack of light. The other plants just had to endure the hurricane. I am guessing a loss of 3 weeks there.

Then the 2 days of near freeze did more damage to the plants than either hurricane, including the plants that fended for themselves.

So DTM or being late is meaningless this year.

It is not really possible to tell the varieties apart early on. They are very similar. But I am sending out "true" Benevento seed (we have more in hand now) to those who were affected last year. Please just PM or email me with what you need, and an address.

[Barb_FL]

Just wanted to update. I have 3 Benevento Plants going; one in an Earthbox and the other 2 in fabric bags. All are setting lots of tomatoes with a few tomatoes already quite large but not near ready to pick.

Germination was great and as seedlings, they were robust like the Amalfi.

I can't wait to taste them.

----
Update on Amalfi - One of my original September plant is still pumping out large perfect tomatoes. I also have 2 grown cuttings that have several large tomatoes on it.

Amalfi is a wonderful tomato. For growing in Florida, I think it is your best so far.

[Fred Hempel]

Just wanted to update. I have 3 Benevento Plants going; one in an Earthbox and the other 2 in fabric bags. All are setting lots of tomatoes with a few tomatoes already quite large but not near ready to pick.

Germination was great and as seedlings, they were robust like the Amalfi.

I can't wait to taste them.

----
Update on Amalfi - One of my original September plant is still pumping out large perfect tomatoes. I also have 2 grown cuttings that have several large tomatoes on it.

Amalfi is a wonderful tomato. For growing in Florida, I think it is your best so far.


I am very pleased with your Amalfi Orange results! Exciting. And hoping Benevento ends up good too.

Florida is tough. I always expect my stuff to suffer there.

[Barb_FL]

Here are my plants. The September plant is grown in a white Rain Science Grow Bag.

I don't know why the pics are sideways. The 2nd and 3rd picture is the original plant. I picked about 6 large ones last night. It has over 20 spread throughout it.

The first picture is a cluster on one of my cuttings.

[MrBig46]

Those photos are taken with the camera held upright. They are stored horizontally with the wider side. If you want to put them in a discussion, it is not enough to rotate the photos in a browser, but you have to edit (rotate) them in a photo editing program (I use Irfan Wiev).
Vladimír

[habitat_gardener]

Benevento F1 did well for me in a challenging summer last year.
We grew Benevento F1 for the local master gardener tomato sale this year, and I hope to get some feedback on how it does for others.

[Fred Hempel]

Barb,

Your plants look fantastic!!

[Fred Hempel]

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

Benevento F1 did well for me in a challenging summer last year.
We grew Benevento F1 for the local master gardener tomato sale this year, and I hope to get some feedback on how it does for others.

Look forward to hearing about how they do for others.

[Labradors2]

Benevento F1 did very well here last season. It was hearty and very productive .

Linda